FOX
Who better to play a couple that the entire viewing public will root for than the uncommonly adorable and blue-eyed Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel? That's their job in the upcoming Fox series Us &amp; Them: to make us fall in love with them enough that we understand why their family and friends uproot their lives to bring the long-distance pair together. At a special New York Television Festival screening event on Tuesday night, Ritter (Gavin) and Bledel (Stacey) were joined by executive producer David Rosen and their castmates Ashlie Atkinson (Nessa), Kurt Fuller (Michael), and Dustin Ybarra (Archie) to air the pilot and talk about this American adaptation of hit British sitcom Gavin &amp; Stacey.
The pilot recreates a few classic moments from the first series created by James Corden and Ruth Jones, but deviates widely in places. The arc of the developing long-distance relationship of our title characters, for example, won't move as quickly as the British six-episode season format demanded. The city/country action has moved from Essex and Wales to New York and the very real Dillsburg, PA, respectively. ("I have their weather on my phone!" Atkinson said.) The cast talked about the meshing of their ensemble (Fuller: "We would sit at the table and just laugh and tell jokes and before we knew it, an hour was up and we were doing the scene again.") which also includes a mini-reunion of The State with Michael Ian Black as Stacey's Uncle Brian (perhaps the fan favorite of Gavin &amp; Stacey) and Kerri Kenny as her mom Gwen, plus Malcolm in the Middle super-mom Jane Kaczmarek as Gavin's mother Pam; the pressure of playing an existing character ("I started to watch [Gavin &amp; Stacey] when we were shooting, but then freaked out and had to stop," Ritter said); and high hopes for the future of the show. Atkinson bet one of the producers that if the series is picked up for a full season, she'll get a real version of Nessa's bacon tattoo.
The future of the show looks murky at the moment — Fox halted production with only six episodes finished. Those will air early next year. We hope it gets another chance. Us &amp; Them is the rare adaptation that has its own vision, voice, and a sparkling cast chemistry. The panel encouraged those who want to see that develop to tweet, Facebook, and email Fox to demand more.
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Somebody call Emma Pillsbury, because Gleeks may soon need some counseling: Glee's sixth season will indeed be its last. Creator Ryan Murphy confirmed the news at the Paley Center event on Wednesday night, when he talked about the impact that the death of Cory Monteith and his character Finn Hudson had on the show, saying "The final year of the show, which will be next year, was designed around Rachel and Cory/Finn's story. I always knew that, I always knew how it would end. I knew what the last shot was – he was in it. I knew what the last line was – she said it to him." Murphy and the show's writers are currently trying to figure out how to rework the show around Monteith's absence.
Fans of Finn and Rachel will be pleased to know that they were always meant to be together in the end, and Murphy has promised that the new ending will "honor" Monteith. He's apparently planning to present his new plan to the network next week. Rumors that the show might be coming to an end started appearing around August, when Fox president Kevin Reilly said that they weren't thinking about the show past its sixth season. However, with the death of Monteith looming large over the show and the show's slow decline in popularity and quality, Glee's departure has started to seem inevitable.
With Finn no longer in the picture, fans have been speculating about the new direction the show will be forced to take. A popular theory is that the new ending will center around Kurt Hummel and his on new fiancé Blaine. Since Murphy has previously stated his affection for both characters, this seems like a probable ending. Rachel will most likely end up a big star, and without Finn to return to Lima for, we wouldn't be surprised if her final storyline centered on her career. Hopefully, some of the show's original cast can return again, and the audience can finally get some closure about Mercedes' singing career, Quinn's success at Yale, and what Brittany could possibly be getting up to at MIT. After all, does anyone actually care about the new group of glee club kids? And, in a perfect world, Tina would finally be able to get a plot where she can be successful without everyone around her tearing her down.
No matter what happens, we're sure Miss Pillsbury has some pamphlets that will help Gleeks through this tough time. Maybe something along the lines of "Moving On After Your Favorite TV Show Ends?"
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FOX
In the latest episode of New Girl, Nick Miller gets a big bag of money. You'd think that would result in authentic hilarity — whenever the character runs rampant with a new treasure (like his London Fog trenchcoat or his "dead dad pass"), we all reap the benefits. But when Nick comes into the possession of a monetary parcel from his father's estate in this week's episode, we break into a story about Jess discretely paying off her boyfriend's mountain of debts while he gets his portrait done (like fancy rich people are wont to do) and wastes away at his bar.
A week after Nick gleefully opens up about his feelings (which should be seen as a far greater victory than "being responsible with money," in honesty), he proclaims to Jess that he refuses to change for her or for anyone else. He won't open a bank account, won't pay his bills, won't abandon his irrational hatred of all socioeconomic constructs, won't even entertain the notion of growing up. When Nick finds out that Jess has been using his cash to satisfy his unpaid bills without his knowledge, the two hit a fissure. And sure, as different as they are, Nick and Jess should come to blows over the discrepancies in their ideologies. But there are many errors in the way that "The Box" handles this kind of endeavor.
For one, Jess is barely recognizable this week (save for her affection for a giant spool of yarn). She isn't operating with a pulse of her own, playing with her hypersensitivity and enthusiastic idealism in contrast to Nick's curmudgeonly and depressive mentality, but instead just as a generic voice of reason. "Pay your bills!" is not an exclamation that needs to come from Jess; fiscal responsibility is not specific to her character. And to put such a grave face on a situation that ultimately results in Nick deciding he wants to change and mature for Jess, the issue should really involve a characteristic that is unique to her very unique personality.
Last week's episode would have offered a better venue for the sort of fight-epiphany-reunion that we see in the second half of "The Box." Jess is, and has been from the moment she entered our lives, someone so all-encompassingly embedded in the idea of feelings. She is not someone who is particularly embedded (at least beyond the degree of any other normal human being) in money or responsibility. And although this episode is primarily Nick's, and the conflict his to overcome, it would really be more appropriate (for a story that intends such weight) if he were to face off with Jess in her purest form, not some generic antagonist.
On the other side of the episode is New Girl's even bigger misstep: Schmidt. He's a bad person. We have come to feel that he is a bad person. So no, we're not pained when we watch him struggle with the idea of being a bad person. We're not happy when we see him overcome these fears and realize that he might actually be a good person. We are... admittedly, slightly amused when he visits a rabbi (in the wonderful form of Jon Lovitz) to pontificate on how to be a better person. But Schmidt is doing nothing to win back our favor. So no, we aren't going to "care" about him or his shortcomings. Not until he proves he's worthy of that again.
And I think Winston lost his cat.
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FOX
The main question that the fourth episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine raises is why it took so long to give Andre Braugher a starring role on a comedy series. With an impeccable deadpan delivery and brilliant timing, Braugher easily stole the show, and made Holt the show's funniest character. The running joke of "M.E. Time" is that Holt is impossible to read, which is frustrating to all of the officers in the precinct. When they think he's had a rough weekend, he's ecstactic, and when he appears happy, he turns out to be devastated. It's a testament to Braugher's skill that he manages to not only deliver "I spent the weekend in Barbados with my husband" and "There was a small fire in my house" in the exact same manner, but that he also makes the joke funnier each time it's repeated.
Santiago (Melissa Fumero) is still on a quest to make Holt her mentor, and so she desperately tries to impress him by recruiting Sgt. Jeffords (Terry Crews) to fill in for the sketch artist so she can turn in her reports early. When that fails to do the trick, she gets him to paint a portrait of Holt for him to hang in his office. Santiago and Jeffords are an unexpected pairing, but her quiet desperation perfectly matches his frustrated outbursts, and the two make the best odd couple this side of Holt and Peralta. It would be nice, though, to see Santiago doing something other than simply following around the captain, and hopefully his approval of her hard work and growing number of closed cases will lead to new plotlines for the character. Jeffords, meanwhile, is once again played magnificently by Crews, and if Braugher hadn't had such a strong week, would have definitely been the highlight the second he ordered that Scully bring him his oils.
Peralta (Andy Samberg), meanwhile, is freed from the watchful eye of Holt this week, but is assigned to be the secondary on Boyle's (Joe Lo Truglio) case. The only problem is that he's the worst secondary in the world, and spends most of his time at the crime scene making fat jokes about the extremely overweight victim and walking all over Boyle. As if that weren't enough, he starts sleeping with the medical examiner (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), which essentially causes the investigation to grind to a halt due to the two playing "sexy coroner" instead of performing a crucial autopsy. Ellis and Samberg have wonderful chemistry, and their scenes together are the perfect blend of goofy and uncomfortable — him lying on the bedroom floor while she tries to determine a "cause of death" was a particular highlight — but Peralta's jerky behavior outweighed the charm that the character usually has.
On the other hand, it was wonderful to watch Boyle grow in confidence throughout the episode, and his quick and competent solving of the case was needed to save him from being a complete caricature. It would be nice to see some of that competence from Peralta, whose ego and manic energy is starting to overwhelm the character. Perhaps he just needs a more serious character like Holt to reign him in, but without an immovable object to ground his unstoppable force, Peralta is one of the show's weaker elements.
Overall, "M.E. Time" was the strongest episode thus far, and helps prove that Brooklyn Nine-Nine is well on its way to being a great sitcom. It seems as if Mike Schur and Dan Goor, the show's creators, have learned a lot from the uneven nature of the first season of Parks and Recreation, and once some of the kinks have been worked out, Brooklyn Nine-Nine will hopefully join it as one of the funniest shows around.
Episode Highlights- Holt, to Scully: "Scully, you can just write 'I didn't close any' on a piece of paper." Scully is essentially the Jerry Gergich of the precinct. - In a flashback, Peralta "backseat interrogates" Santiago's witness, getting so worked up he breaks the glass. - Boyle sings and acts out the score from Oliver in the car on the way to the crime scene. - Jeffords, before starting to sketch a suspect: "Let's start with the eyes. Were they desperate? Lonely? Did they betray heartache?" "They were brown." - Holt believes that the only people who hang baroque oil paintings of themselves are North Korean dictators. (He's probably not wrong.)- After the victim's wife describes her late husband as "a real Don Juan," Peralta asks permission to make a fat joke, and then comes out with, "Are you sure you don't mean Don Flan?"
More: 'Brooklyn Nine Nine' Recap: Episode 3, 'The Slump''How I Met Your Mother' Recap: Say Goodbye to The Bro CodeAndy Samberg Is Bringing British Comedy 'Cuckoo' To NBC
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FOX
At its worst, New Girl has always been a bit uneven. Entering the game as a show that seemed to be interested in tackling gender issues, meandering from wacky comedy to soapy romance to substantial character material, and consistently having no idea what to do with Winston, the show has never quite felt entirely symmetrical. But from this formula sprang an unexpected humanity. The organic evolution of the stars' relationships (specifically that between Nick and Jess) and the unpredictability of plot structure — any given episode of this show could consist of the more traditional assembly of quick scenes that pile on, and eventually knock down, antics of humorous insanity, or 22 straight minutes of characters mulling over their mortality in a dimly lit bar — made New Girl seem surprisingly fresh. So we're a bit unnerved to see Season 3's fourth episode, "The Captain," coming up so short in the departments where the program usually thrives: originality and authenticity.
Schmidt, still flying high on the sociopathy introduced to his character at the end of last week's episode, undertakes a diabolical ploy to tear his friends apart. And since neither Nick nor Jess have been watching this show, they both fall for it — Schmidt gets in Nick's head about he and Jess leaping into their romantic partnership too soon, resulting in a bout of impotence for the anxious bartender. For the coup de grace, Schmidt gives Jess some decidedly bad advice on how to rectify the scenario, suggesting she try a complicated and mortifying sexual experiment known as The Captain. It only makes things worse.
... for the time being, until Schmidt's role as puppetmaster becomes apparent and Nick is charged, in a moment of emotional desperation, to finally open up to Jess about everything he feels. It's the moment she has (and we have!) been waiting for since these characters' prerequisite archetypes were introduced in the pilot. And such a titanic upswing for Nick's character should be met with the grandeur this tragic flaw (closing himself off out of fear and discomfort) has always carried. But nothing in "The Captain" feels as dense, sensitive, or genuine as the show's past dramatic points. We are led to fear that next week's episode will ret-con the whole ordeal, returning Nick to his state of being as empathetical hermit... or worse, have the feelings-hungry Jess become agitated with his effusive reformation (there are some pretty dismal signs at the end of "The Captain" that this might be the case). We want these people to grow, not regress... which brings us to Schmidt. A character who was introduced as a jerk, fleshed out to showcase the inner damages and insecurities that haunt him daily, and newly transformed into a cartoon villain. Even when Schmidt was cheating on Cece and Elizabeth with one another, he never employed malice in his decisions. But this descent into the territories of absolute evil, attempting to tear his two close friends apart purely for spite, robs the character of any of the likability he developed over the course of Seasons 1 and 2.
And then there's Winston, who is saddled with a plot that was already lame by the time Three's Company started using it: a miscommunication between him and an attractive young lady who thinks he's hitting on her while, in fact, he is just trying to convince her that their two cats should mate. Never is this plot funny. Never does it seem new. And especially when it's loaded onto a character like Winston, whose humor is almost always plot-based (he doesn't have the weight or acute eccentricity of Nick or Schmidt to make a dumb premise funny just by being himself in it), does something like this feel like a failure. Come on, New Girl, you're better than a B-story that relies entirely on innuendo.
So we hope that the show resurfaces soon, perhaps with the announced return Coach, the dismissal of Schmidt's evil, or the next step (whatever it may be) for Nick and Jess. Oh, and enough with the cat. Animal humor works best in GIF form, Fox, not in half-hour sitcoms.
More:'New Girl' Recap: Double Date'New Girl' Recap: NerdCoach Is Coming Back to 'New Girl'
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FOX
Ah, if only the commercials were it. Two minutes or so of slick, cleverly-edited entertainment and – switch! – onto the next ‘show.’ Trouble is, even given our ever-shrinking collective attention span, television producers still have to fill at least 20 more minutes or so with actual storytelling, let alone the double that for an hour broadcast, and on a repeated, weekly basis. When it comes to the horror and sci-fi genres, it seems few other areas of the small screen have ever led to as much misdirection and, oh - let’s be honest – outright disappointment in terms of promising something really good (and far too many times, failing to deliver). With Fox’s new Sleepy Hollow now off and galloping to its eventual fate as only the viewers will determine, Hollywood.com takes a look back over the years to similar fare that looked completely cool in the commercials, only to be anything but come actual air-time.
The Lone Gunmen (FOX, 2001)
A spinoff of The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen followed a group of geeky conspiracy theorists that, inexplicably, deviated from its alien-origins to offer physical comedy and more down-to-Earth plot lines. It lasted but 13 shows.
Manimal (NBC, 1983)
The ultimate example of great-looking promo turning into a flop at airtime, especially when the quasi-superhero with an ability to turn into any animal chooses a hawk or black panther in almost every one of its eight episodes.
Kingdom Hospital (ABC, 2004)
Not even Stephen King, some star power and elongating the planned mini-series to a full show could save this effort. Poor ratings led to its cancellation after only one year.
American Gothic (CBS, 1995)
Yes, even someone as sure-handed as Sam Raimi can misfire, particularly in this Gary Cole, creepy-sheriff vehicle that went bye-bye in a hurry. Produced by former teen idol Shaun Cassidy.
The Secret Circle (CW, 2011)
Take the writer from The Vampire Diaries; substitute witches for vampires and insert a bland cast without any discernible charisma. Voila! The Secret Circle. Twenty-two episodes later, the secret was out – it sucked.
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"That snail is fast!" This tagline sums up all you need to know about Turbo, the rather ironic tale of a garden snail who races in the Indy 500. The latest computer-animated flick from Dreamworks tells a typically predictable underdog story, with the proper doses of humor and heartwarming moments. It's totally cliché, but still great family fun.
Voiced by Ryan Reynolds, Turbo (née Theo) is a simple garden snail who is fed up with his humdrum life in the tomato patch with his overly cautious brother Chet (Paul Giamatti). When he isn't working with overripe fruit at "the plant," the ambitious little snail watches old car race tapes and dreams of being fast like French-Canadian Indy 500 champion Guy Gagne (voiced by Bill Hader). Then one fateful night, Turbo is exposed to nitrous oxide and effectively transformed into a car, equipped with a radio, alarm, headlights, and best of all, super speed. Turbo's newfound abilities quickly come into play when he rescues Chet from a crow attack, but the two brothers are then snatched up by a taco truck driver named Tito Lopez. Just when they think they're about to become escargot, Chet and Turbo are surprised to find that Tito only wants to enter them in a snail race.
Tito and his brother Angelo operate the struggling Dos Bros taco stand in a ramshackle strip mall with a hobby shop, nail salon, and auto repair shop. The owners are friends, racing snails together to take their minds off their failing businesses. But when they discover Turbo's incredible talents, they decide to show him off to the world. With hopes to win the Indy 500 and put their strip mall on the map, the shop owners and their snails band together to travel to Indianapolis. Then, it's all up to Turbo and his supersnail speed.
With a star-studded cast boasting the likes of Maya Rudolph, Samuel L. Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Michelle Rodriguez, Luis Guzmán, Michale Pena and Richard Jenkins, Turbo is an adorable film about a little snail with big dreams. While some animated movies focus solely on entertaining the kids, and others devote too much energy to appeasing the adults, Turbo manages to achieve a nice balance of humor that will have parents and their children laughing together. And it promotes the inspiring messages that we want our children to be exposed to: 1) Follow your dreams, no matter how outlandish they may be. 2) Your heroes may disappoint you, but you can become your own hero. 3) Taco trucks are awesome.
Indeed, Turbo features some nice contemporary touches, like the ever-popular food truck, a viral video subplot, and a French-accented car-racing villain à la Talladega Nights. Still, there is absolutely nothing surprising about this movie, which isn't necessarily to its detriment but certainly makes for a less exciting viewing experience. There's comic relief (most notably Ken Jeong's voice performance as a feisty female manicurist) and a bit of suspense, but we're never too worried that things won't turn out okay in the end. Is it realistic? Of course not. But is it fun? Most definitely. In effect, it's an easy movie to watch and enjoy for 90 minutes or so, but you probably won't find yourself hankering for a repeat viewing. While Turbo is nothing groundbreaking, it's a charming film with a lot of heart.
3.5/5
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The death of actor James Gandolfini has sent a shock wave through Hollywood, prompting a slew of tributes from heartbroken stars including Susan Sarandon, Russell Crowe, Lindsay Lohan and Ewan Mcgregor. The Sopranos star passed away on Wednesday (19Jun13) after reportedly suffering a heart attack in Rome, Italy ahead of an appearance at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily later this week (beg17Jun13).
The 51 year old's iconic role as mob boss Tony Soprano in the hit U.S. TV series won him the respect of his fellow actors and directors, and tributes have poured in from his former colleagues and fans.
Sarandon, who starred opposite Gandolfini in 2005 film Romance & Cigarettes, writes in a post on Twitter.com, "So sad to lose James Gandolfini. One of the sweetest, funniest, most generous actors I've ever worked with. Sending prayers to his family."
Olivia Wilde, who worked with him on this year's (13) The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, writes, "James Gandolfini was a kind, funny, wonderful guy. I'm so lucky to have worked with him. Sending love to his family. Such a sad, sad day."
His Surviving Christmas co-star Christina Applegate writes, "I am so deeply saddened by the untimely passing of sweet James Gandolfini! My heart is broken for his family!! I'm in shock."
Crowe took to Twitter.com to recall his first meeting with Gandolfini in the early 1990s, writing, "Sad to hear about James Gandolfini. First met Jimmy back in '94. He was roommates in NY with (actor) Lenny Loftin (sic). Lovely man. RIP Jimmy."
McGregor tweets, "Jesus. The world just lost one of its great actors. James Gandolfini has passed away. Thoughts to his family. Such a talent. I'm saddened," and Samuel L. Jackson adds, "Massive blow to the acting community today... The passing of James Gandolfini. So talented. My heart goes out to his family!"
The news even prompted a response from troubled actress Lohan, who sent a message from rehab, where she is serving out a court-ordered treatment program. A message posted on her Twitter.com page, reads, "From Lindsay: 'James Gandolfini was a dear friend and a great man. My heart goes out to his family. He will be greatly missed' - team Lohan."
Stars from the world of music were also saddened to hear of Gandolfini's death, with Justin Timberlake writing, "Really though... This James Gandolfini passing is so sad. My heart goes out to his family in this time. RIP. Taken too soon," while Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler adds, "You were... and always will be... A true gift! James Gandolfini."
Other tributes came from stars including Val Kilmer, John Cusack, Rose McGowan, Mia Farrow, Bette Midler, Michael J. Fox, Debra Messing, Jonah Hill, Wes Craven and Busy Philipps.

After a pretty stable near-decade with the original trifecta of Simon, Paula, and Randy, the American Idol judges bench has seen an alarming rate of turnover these past couple of years. The twelfth season of the Fox reality series brought in big names like Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj...a pair that quickly earned infamy for their mutual hostility. After a slew of rumors inviting the possibility of Carey and Minaj's departure from Idol after just one season, announcements on Thursday night confirmed that both music artists would indeed be stepping down from the program.
ABC reports that Carey will not be returning for the 2013-'14 season, nor will Minaj (whose departure has been all but official for quite some time now). Following the dismissal of the only remaining original judge Randy Jackson, this leaves us with Keith Urban, who has expressed interest in continuing his Idol tour. But with rumors surrounding Jennifer Hudson as an incoming judge, he might not be alone for long.
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